I'll have lots more comic reviews coming up but for right now I thought I would delve into the world of live music with my viewing of the Decemberists in Raleigh, NC.
Firstly, the opening act was Blind Pilot out of Portland, OR. They were really good. The band consisted of a singer/acoustic guitarist, an upright bass player, a uke/banjo player, a xylophone player, a drummer and a trumpet/accordion player. The vocals reminded me of Fleet Foxes (especially the tone of the lead singer and the melodies). The music was very dynamic with some songs building and others crashing to a quiet halt and then rocking again. I was surprised by how well they came across and I bought their album after the show.
On to the Decemberists. I was hesitant about seeing this show at first because my exposure to these guys is limited. I have their two major label albums but none of their indie stuff. Luckily, they played the new album all the way through in order for the first half of their set. With two female guest vocalists in costume and a recording to simulate the children's choir, the entire album was presented pretty much exactly as it was recorded. The female vocalists pulled double duty with tamborines, wind chimes and keyboards to help flesh out the five piece band's sound. The crowd went nuts for The Wanting Comes In Waves (one of my favorites from the new album) because of the Grace Slick style vocal work of...I didn't get her name. She is from a band called The Brightest Diamond. I felt bad for the other lady who sang the Margaret parts, no one went nuts for her.
Another highlight of the first half was The Rake's Song. I wondered how they would capture the bombast of the most rocking song on their new album. If you ever saw Radiohead do "There, There" live, you have an idea. With seven people on stage, five of them were playing drums and all of them were pounding out the punctuating beat at the same time. It was pretty powerful and fun to watch. In all, I still don't care for certain songs from the album (even live there are draggy sections) but, as a whole, it was very satisfying.
After an all Supertramp interlude over the PA, they came back out to delve into older songs. I made a deal with myself, I would stay for five songs and if they played nothing I knew, I was leaving. From the Crane Wife I was hoping to hear Yankee Bayonet, The Perfect Crime, Summersong, Sons & Daughter and (especially) O Valencia. They started with Leslie Ann Levine from Castaways and Cutoffs but the melody sounded a lot like something off the last couple of albums. I couldn't put my finger on it but it was sort of samey sounding. Next came The Bachelor and the Bride from Her Majesty. Again, it didn't really hook me in and I was beginning to worry they would avoid the Crane Wife. Next they played We Both Go Down Together from Picaresque, which got the crowd jazzed but did nothing for me. After that they played a song called Sleepless from a charity compilation. No one seemed to dig it too much. I was preparing to leave when they brought back out the female vocalist who did the part of the Forest Queen and sang Yankee Bayonet (finally!). This was a great rendition of a great song and I really enjoyed the slightly elongated ending. Settled back in I was not prepared for a 15 minute version of The Chimbley Sweep from Her Majesty. I had only heard the title before but I had to admit, that was a good, catchy song. During the song Melloy and Funk engage in a guitar dual with the spotlight shining on one then the other. As the rivalry gets more heated, Melloy pulled a girl up from the crowd and let her play his part on the acoustic guitar while Funk pulled a boy up on stage and got him to play the electric part. Both kids were pretty darn good. Eventually, the boy goes back into the crowd and it is Funk versus the girl. He eventually surrenders to her superior fire power and the contest ends with everyone happy. During all this, Melloy pulled another girl up to dance a jig with her. I thought these were really nice, touching moments between a band and their fans. Considering how static and rigid the first half was, this really humanized the band.
With the crowd still buzzing from that epic song, they launched into a great version of O Valencia! I was so pleased with the song I decided to leave because, honestly, it wasn't going to get better than that three song stint for me. As I stepped into the rainy, muggy night I was very pleased with how the evening turned out. I feel I got my money worth and the Decemberists put on a good show. I am interested to see how they incorporate songs from the new album into their live sets in the future without playing the whole thing as one piece. I may return to them some day.
Josh
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment